WrestleTalk Roundtable – WWE Smackdown Live – December 18, 2018

What was your favorite moment of Smackdown Live?

Dylan Kapisky

Maybe there is something to this “Fresh Start” initiative — at least for the SmackDown tag team division — because there were several fresh faces who appeared last night. The Usos came out to cut a promo, but were interrupted by Gallows & Anderson. The BCOGs have not been seen on SmackDown Live (except for backstage before Survivor Series) since August. Despite how good the top 3 tag teams are on SmackDown, it was refreshing to see Gallows & Anderson. The Good Brothers then took on the Real Brothers in an excellent match that reminded us all why there was so much hype around The Club.

They weren’t the only frequently absent tag team who showed up on the show, as SAnitY found themselves in front of the camera, as well. Seeing two criminally underused teams back on TV gave me a sliver of hope that this “New Era Part IV” will work, and more people will get opportunities.

Jey @WWEUsos is in a bad way right now… #SDLive @KarlAndersonWWE pic.twitter.com/PCZ1VKmmcC

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2018

Brian Farrell

Styles and Ali vs Almas and Bryan.

This match wasn’t a 5 star classic, but it was very good and enjoyable.  The main event capped off a very good episode of Smackdown. Most importantly, it established Ali as a legit competitor and didn’t have Almas take another pin. This match made me excited for the future of Almas on Smackdown and the things to come on Smackdown Live.

Kyle Payne:

One of the things I hated about last night’s Raw was how the opening segment was forty minutes long. Thankfully, this SmackDown was quick with the talking and we were quickly into a competitive women’s championship match. Asuka looked great. It was wonderful to see Naomi challenge for the title and look good while doing so. I also loved how we were left with intrigue on where both Charlotte and Becky go from here. The possibilities are endless.

I really enjoyed the main event. We got Bryan and Almas versus Styles and Mustafa Ali. Everyone played their role great in a good tag team match. The announcement Ali is now on the SmackDown roster was a welcomed surprise. Mustafa Ali is a truly gifted individual. Seeing him on one of the main shows, getting tons of support, and hopefully, time, makes me happy. He will absolutely knock it out of the park.

It was great to see Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who had a nice match with the Usos. However, the true highlight was Sanity coming out to decimate both teams after it looked like the tag team champions, the Bar, were going to. Hopefully, this is a sign the tag team division on SmackDown is going to get back to prominence.  I’m not sure what everyone else’s feelings on the Nakamura promo, but I loved it. It was absolutely spectacular.

https://twitter.com/AriyaDaivariWWE/status/1075224444052762624

Jeffrey Bowie Jr.

Mustafa Ali and AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan and Andrade Almas. I remain tired of the “future challenger defeats champion in tag match trope”, but two goals were accomplished here; First, Mustafa Ali was given a huge rub as a serious contender in the WWE title picture. The second and most obvious, Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE championship. I also loved the way Ali sold his surprising victory.

I hope that the company actually holds off on a title match until the Royal Rumble. The Rumble match sells the pay-per-view thus WWE can take risks on matches like these. Plus, creative needs to build Ali up so the fans can rally behind him. Ali lost to Bryan last week, so the company needs to work hard to build the former 205 Live star up.

I wouldn’t have minded a Styles/Bryan rematch, but I’m more excited for this fresh match up between two competitors who can easily start off 2019 with a potential match of the year candidate.

• mustafa ali
• SmackDown Live
• Vince McMahon
• wwe

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